 Welcome back to a new series called Pro Tip. Why Pro Tip? Because the other series FNA is for new animators and I want to do something where it's after you graduate and you are about to get a job in the midst of a job with tips that might help you through that process. And why not? Because I finished teaching all of my animation classes at the academy and people are graduating or about to graduate and I wanted to say congratulations that's awesome good luck to you and here are a few tips. All right so the first tip or the first piece of advice for the first thing you need to know when you enter the animation industry as a professional in any kind of field for games and feature animation or VFX or VR anything you need to know this industry sucks. There you go I said it it's a tough industry to get in the hours suck the comments on your work can suck they can make your work worse you might not get paid enough you're gonna get laid off even getting a job in his current climate with the pandemic and the lockdowns are there any jobs out there and even if you get a job what if your boss is horrible what are you getting into a rhythm of working too much and they don't pay you overtime and the company closes and doesn't pay the last paychecks that you're supposed to get for the last few months it sucks this industry sucks why am I saying this just because every time someone posts something positive about this industry comments come in and they complain why the fake positivity this industry sucks and this person is right it does this industry does suck I've been working for almost 17 years every year for those 16 to 17 years every summer I had to face layoffs sometimes it was just gonna just talked about sometimes it was very close sometimes you get into forced vacation and you don't know if you're gonna get a paycheck next week every year for almost 17 years sometimes you work for six months on the show and then 80 percent of your work gets cut you got nothing to show for and your demo reel is at that lower level not with the newest work that you wanted to present you might also work for years and years and years and you think you do good work and you ask for a raise or promotion and that gets denied over and over this happened this happened to me and it sucks this industry sucks you think you good work and then you hear that companies are colluding to keep the salaries low that sucks you hear of your industry heroes that have paved the way that have created crazy technologies that they are abusers and harassers that sucks you might get hired at the company on a project basis and that's only for a couple months and then they string you along each week oh maybe there's an update maybe not you get laid off you don't know if there's a next paycheck can you pay for your apartment for your house can you provide for your family if you can even have a family because if it's on a project basis you have to move all the time that sucks it's the company when to work for gonna see that's really expensive and the rent and housing prices go up and up and up that sucks you didn't have to move out to commute for an hour or longer to get to your job less time that you can spend with your family your friends sucks you're actually gonna spend more time at the company than at home with your friends or family that sucks so congratulations you graduated and you're headed into the industry that sucks now is that helpful no is that the reality yes is my reality your reality of course not sucks for me but it's still better than for many other people you want to cringe at the politically correct thing that i'm a white male well but it's still a fact it sucks for me it sucks much harder for other people so there you go for everybody that comments that wants to hear that it sucks there you go these are the facts there are many other this industry is hard it's hard to get in it's hard to stay in it's different level of hardness for other people and it sucks and if this is the first time you're hearing this now that you've graduated that sucks you should have been told this a long time ago by your teachers so why am I still doing it after 16 17 years because i love it does it suck yeah of course it does but it's also something that i'm okay at i don't know what else i could do and you have to work hard every summer i have to think about layoffs and work on my reel i constantly have to train to get better so i can justify my demands for raises or for a promotion there are people who get hired years after me who are much better much faster i have to keep up with that but that is the reality does it suck yes my wife she worked in textile design guess what it sucked company closed overseas outsourcing these companies until the company in america closed now she's doing sales guess what it also sucks i have friends in other countries with totally different jobs and guess what they all suck and they do and i'm not even saying this to be dramatic these are all facts everything you're going to do has an absolutely horrendous side to it so the question is and this is the question for anybody doing anything from being a carpenter to an essential worker to an animator that's definitely a spoiled job is this something that you're good at and not from a technical point of view in terms of animating but is this something you can go through because you're going to be told no over and over and over and over you're going to get into situations where there are going to be confrontations where your demands are not met where you're going to get disappointed you might get a job at a dream company and then you hate it if you remember the janet chan clip she worked at dreamworks was awesome then worked at disney and it was horrible and that's a fact and that's not her being dramatic and that's not me down playing it it sucked and then your decision can be to do to be an entrepreneur and to do something on your own and guess what comments for that also suck oh you want to be an entrepreneur you want to do your own job you want to do your own business well guess what this is going to be our blah blah blah so being a work you be sucks now being independent sucks being an entrepreneur sucks you want to get negative comments all the time are they valid yeah but also depends on what you're going to do all those things that have listed they are true things happen to me things that i heard it just sucks it's a hard industry right now industry is on a lockdown like there's nothing you can do there are layoffs coming absolutely there's less work absolutely this sucks so you have to decide if this is something you want to do because you can't get into the animation industry thinking it's going to be great you're gonna have your own office that you can decorate you're gonna get the best shots ever you're gonna get your any award maybe you're gonna direct the movie and get an Oscar like these are outliers and even those people worked really hard you have to work really hard i know someone who was at disney where you think that's the best job ever we still got up way early in the morning to work on a real to go with another company even though you think that person wouldn't have to that person still had to work really hard so that's my rant i have actual tips for you when you graduate but i wanted to front load that with yes this industry sucks and there's no way around this and you have to hear this you have to know this you have to research where you're gonna live where you're gonna work what the company culture is and if this is going to be something that works for you you can't believe the advertisement of schools and companies the weather says it's going to be great and making us where everything looks happy for some people it is happy and guess what for those people it still sucks and that level of course is going to vary just like i said in the previous clip there is a scope of it i have been fairly lucky with what i've gotten but i've worked really hard and there's a lot of stuff that none of you know that i have done to be there to get there and to stay there now you might do the same thing and you will still not get there and it's going to suck much harder for you and again that is the reality and that is not to be downplayed that's a fact it's not going to be fair and it's definitely not merit based as with everything there's going to be a massive combination of you working hard being recognized for it but also luck and timing and at the mercy of managers and all kind of stuff like that so congratulations and i'm sorry it's great it's a great job and i love it and at the same time you're headed into an industry that is very very difficult so if you're discouraged that's a valid feeling again double check triple check is this something you want to do now if you heard all of this and you've heard of this before and you've been warned and you know you know what i'm ready this is a tough industry but i love the art that i'm doing and i have that creative fire in me i want to do this and again every industry has their horrible sides and you got to fight through this if you're still into that and you want to get going here are my tips so now that everything's a lockdown ctn say graph not sure how that's going to move forward so you have to be a self-promoter and put your stuff online so as you have your reel you graduate it you should apply at all the companies but don't just do that it's 2020 you have to be a self-promoter put your stuff on linkedin put your stuff on twitter put your stuff on instagram wherever you can and showcase what you have if it's not ready mark it as a work in progress if it's a specific reel make sure that it works for that company but still put that stuff online market yourself go out there you never know who sees it who might recommend and forward your shot to someone who might hire you now you have questions about demo reels i have a whole series link in the description and up here watch those series hopefully those tips will help you after everything i said watch out for your expectations right so as you send your reel and you get in make sure you really research that company the culture how are the people what's the work environment what are the hours that are asked of you so really research and check your expectations so that you're not crushed when something happens that you did not expect but just like with everything you have to work hard you have to work hard on it over a long period of time and sometimes it's earned but don't expect to be given things just because you work hard it's that's not it's again it sucks it's not fair but that's just how it is so you're gonna have to do always extra work and this is again my perspective and it's going to be different for other people easier and harder like i said you're gonna spend more time at the company than at home so choose your company wisely now choose quote unquote because if you are graduating you probably have no choice you're gonna have to get the first job you can get to pay your bills if you are in a position where you might have multiple offers and that is a privilege and very special opportunity think hard where do i want to go do i want to go there just for the company's prestige but does that come with long commutes a weird culture like you have to make a loud decision so research your company now you graduated you got that interview don't forget that you should ask the company questions you are providing a service to the company don't work for free don't go i want to do everything for you they're gonna take advantage of you so as you're there ask animation questions first if the anim soup is in the interview because that person is busy so you can ask questions like if there's an item quota are you going to do the whole scene as an animator or just foreground or just background is there a fixed animator position is there a background animator position what do you do in terms of responsibilities how much do you share with your team and so on ask animation specific questions for the person who's in the room was it that way when you're done that person can go and get back to work then ask your hr questions do you pay benefits what kind of benefits do you pay for sick days do you pay vacation days what kind of medical benefits are covered to how much is the 50% 80% 100% if you have to relocate do they help you with relocation costs are you hourly or salary do you pay overtime all that stuff you have to ask don't forget you are providing a service to them they need you so this has to also work for you of course all in the context of you working at a company within a team for someone it's a completely different environment than your school environments things are not going to be given to you there's going to be a different workflow a different hierarchy a different pipeline so wrap your head around that so when you start working on your shots don't expect those shots to be on your reel you're not working on your reel you're working on the client's reel it's someone else's vision you're working for that person whoever is in charge who wants that short or that movie done they will have specific ideas about their shots and you have to do the best you can to make those shots work for that person because you are providing a service now this is a production environment and if you want to do something where you have more control and you got to do that at home on the side or change a job with different responsibilities in different job title like depends again depends what you want and research that but be aware if you want to work for a company and you're working for someone this is in a team environment working for someone now if this is the first job you're headed into just know that the work you're doing for that first job might not be available for your reel because the movie's not out in theaters yet or streaming or whatever and you can't show work that hasn't been out for you to to rip and put that on your demo reel so if a movie's not out in theaters you can't use that work so be ready if that's your first job do still work on your reel at home you still have to work all day come home work on your personal stuff to create another reel that's not your school reel but it's more of a newer reel but still not the professional work that you get from the movies or tv shows whatever you're working on so be ready for that on your first project that the timing is going to be weird and you might not get that material for your demo reel if you need to go for your second job because you might get a job but it's goopy project based for three months six months a year you never know so be ready for that now know that when you're in school it's all about animation you learn the principles and you work on your technical aspects and mechanics performance that's all cool that's about half of what are you going to do at work the other half is going to be navigating the work landscape so you have to work on your social skills so you have to be able to talk to production navigate dailies and clients and notes and deadlines and you are dealing with people in a in a expensive environment with a lot of stress a lot of egos a lot of creativity so you have to be able to put your own ego on the side work for that person still find a way to get your creative voice heard without causing conflict there's a lot that goes with it and to me as always tell my students is like high school with more money you're going to have clicks you're going to have groups you're going to have weird in fighting you're going to have egos but again you are working environment with very creative people with strong opinions involving a lot of money so be aware that this is the environment you're heading into that being said don't compare yourself to other people because again your situation is unique and your goals are unique and your struggles are unique so i would try to get a five to ten year plan i know this sounds ridiculous but how can you have a plan for next week especially given this current climate but if you can if you start at the company and you want to stay there you want to do your career there look at what is the lead animator doing what is the supervising animator doing what are the skills have they learned to get there to get the promotion and then start working and practicing and training to get towards that can't just work and imagine you're gonna be animated there for 20 30 years that's not high works anymore so you have to look at if i want to make a career at that company what are the steps to climb up the career ladder and the reason why i'm saying don't compare yourself is because there are people who are going to get there faster than you and some people are going to get there slower than you again based on whatever individual situation they're in so try to have a plan and stick with it because if you're constantly comparing yourself to other people who are getting there faster than you who are better than you it's going to get just depressing like oh why now me why me why me then you're back into what i said at the beginning it's just all negative and i just don't buy into that yes this industry sucks but at the same time there's also a ton of good stuff the work is great the people are great the creativity is awesome the stuff that you create and how you influence people in theaters you inspire people there's a lot of really cool stuff in this industry and this is why i'm still doing it now do i ignore the bad stuff no do i want to linger on this and do all of my clips every time going this is going to be hard and it sucks no but what's the point it is hard and it's going to suck and that's everywhere every job everything the world out there is not fair and it's going to be hard but is that as motivating as me telling you that these are the tips that you can use to get there maybe faster to navigate this and it may be easier way here animation tips and tricks to get you better at your craft to move in advance forward faster that to me is more valuable than constantly focus on the negative and constantly go this is horrible horrible horrible even comments on my channel like i i don't see the point you can't ignore the negatives and you have to work on those negatives but at the same time there are positives and they're going to be different for other people so i prefer to focus on the positives so you can strengthen that aspect while you still work on the negatives to speak of negatives one of them is your health so you might be pumped and you're motivated and you work really hard watch out your wrists your back your elbows your eyesight stay healthy sometimes you get into a crazy flow and you're so good at it and you forget the time around you and that day after day year after year takes its toll on your body so make sure there is a balance where you work hard but also rest but ultimately like i said it is a business so as you get in there and even if you're successful and it's going to be awesome have a plan be have an exit strategy you never know what's going to happen company might close suddenly something happens the pandemic you have no job there's always something that might threaten your stability so keep working on your reel keep practicing keep training think about your savings think about your insurance think about your retirement and maybe long term think about starting your own business like i said before and something will complain about that just i don't know like you can choose if you want to listen to them or not obviously like i said many many times in this clip they are pros and cons but at least if you get into your animation business and you love it enjoy it enjoy the ride be aware they're going to be negatives but it's still a fantastic job and compared to what other people have to do in this world it's a massively spoiled job at the same time be ready for a plan b for an exit strategy because it's not always going to last and my last tip is don't listen to anything i say this is my perspective my point of view this is a massive scope of what people are dealing with and i might be somewhere that for you is horrible you never want to do this you don't work for a big company and be a workaholic or you don't want to stay at the company for that long and you would do something else you want to do freelance you want to be more creative you don't have your own voice that is absolutely valid and more power to you again this is what i experience this is what i have learned and hopefully this is helpful to you there are tips that i've heard from other people who have other who have had other experiences it's a kind of a combination of everything but still all through my lens my subjective point of view so take it or leave it this might be too negative this might be too positive you can never please everybody but if you graduate it congratulations good luck hopefully all those tips will help you i have more links in description with working from home with staying motivated demo reels so i have more things around that might hopefully help you and of course i i'm going to end with a plug if you just graduated and you are about to get a job or you want more training so you're ready for that job i do have workshops yes this is a shameless plug but i do have those workshops for reasons so that you can continue your training so link in description you can sign up at any time if i can help you with strengthening your reel to get a better position that i would love to do that so let me know you can sign up at any time let's work together other than that this was a long rant hopefully it's helpful it's a bit of a reality check but also still i am still doing this because i love it so even though there are many negatives and you look online you look at what people talk about in terms of their experiences you got to listen to that you can't just listen to all the positive stuff you have to listen to the negative stuff and you have to feel to that and look at how does that apply to me do i really want to get into this industry when i'm faced with all of that pros and cons and this is all very subjective you have to make that decision for you but do not ignore the negative comments don't just listen to the positive comments i absolutely 100 agree with that and complaining about it all the time also doesn't help so is this something that's going to work for you that is ultimately up to you and again if you graduate congratulations if you have any other questions email me leave a comment i want to help you as much as i can good luck with everything have fun and see you in my next clip